Tanush Kotian scored an unbeaten century in the second innings as the Mumbai cricket team beat Rest of India to win the Irani Cup 2024 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday.
Tanush, who plays for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, top-scored for Mumbai in the second essay and remained unbeaten on 114 from 150 balls. Mumbai declared their second innings at 329/8 in the post-lunch session on day five with an overall lead of 450 runs.
Both captains and the umpires agreed to call off the match and Mumbai scripted history with their 16th Irani Cup triumph, courtesy of their 121-run first-innings lead. Tanush capped off a memorable contest as he added further to his first-innings tally of a half-century and three wickets.
The Irani Cup is a prestigious annual domestic cricket competition in India. The match is traditionally played between the Ranji Trophy champions – the team that wins India’s premier first-class domestic competition – and the Rest of India team, which consists of standout players from across the country.
It was the Mumbai cricket team's first Irani Cup title since the 1997-98 season.
“Winning the trophy after 27 years feels amazing,” Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane said. “I would like to pick Tanush Kotian for his performances in the previous season and this match.
“The Ranji Trophy and Irani Cup belong to everyone – from the maidan cricketers to everyone playing cricket in Mumbai.”
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Coming to the crease with Mumbai in a tricky situation at 125/6 in the second innings, Tanush showed grit and character to take the fight to the opposition. The all-rounder first ensured that Mumbai recovered from the immediate damage with a 42-run seventh-wicket partnership with first-innings double-centurion Sarfaraz Khan.
Tanush got to the career's second hundred in 135 balls and his innings was studded with 10 fours and a six. He also added 158 runs with pacer Mohit Avasthi (51*) for the ninth wicket and the pair remained unbeaten when Mumbai decided to declare.
Off-spinner Saransh Jain was the pick among the Rest of India bowlers with impressive figures of 6/121 in the second innings.
Earlier in the match, the 25-year-old Tanush had scored 64 in the first innings and supported Sarfaraz Khan to bat Rest of India out of the match. He also backed up his batting efforts with a spell of 3/101 to restrict Rest of India to 416.
Dhruv Jurel’s (93) and Abhimanyu Easwaran’s (191) knocks for Rest of India were not enough to surpass Mumbai’s mammoth first-innings total as they ended up conceding a first-innings lead of 121. Mumbai closed the doors on Rest of India with their excellent batting effort in the second essay.
